Jack & Jill - Phase 9, Part 16
Added 2025-02-24 07:46:52 +0000 UTCWith a special guest star...
(If you're wondering where she's from, it's Half Sisters - Episode 55 and Episode 57)
Comments
I love how you send us in directions that come as a complete surprise :-) x
stacy C
2025-03-22 12:08:52 +0000 UTCAs the saying goes, a gilded cage is still a prison. You are absolutely right Possessions, even IRL, dont equal freedom. Xu is absolutely as twisted as any of the other characters in his position in other universes. Grandmother/Dorothy from Dorley comes to mind as an example. Even if canon Dorley exists in your universe or canon Second Dawn exists there. There will always be these type of players where a billionaire class exists. I dont doubt that there exists something like Dorley or Clinic 12 exists in our own IRL world because we have billionaires and that is what scares me and adds the horror element into these type of stories for me. Again, great job on the storyline, I look forward to more content in the Second Dawn universe aka Jack & Jill.
SingularCurve
2025-02-27 18:37:59 +0000 UTCThank you, Ella! I really like Janice - and she's very pretty with red hair!
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-27 17:36:06 +0000 UTCThank you, Phoebe! Janice’s struggle is definitely complex. She has had all control ripped away, not just physically but mentally, and that's a deep kind of wound. Being a titan of industry, that's all about control, and then suddenly, she's a toy. It's gotta shatter her sense of self. That Hutchison trauma, it's like this open wound that never closes. It makes sense she'd grab onto anything that offers a way out, even if it's maybe this manufactured persona. It's interesting you mention Ryan! The mirror moment with him and Janice's situation are definitely connected in my mind. That glimpse of attraction, that "maybe this could be me" feeling, it's both alluring and terrifying. Janice is caught in that same conflict. She knows the persona is fake, but survival instincts, or maybe something deeper, are making her see the appeal, especially when the alternative is Hutchison. Freedom, even if it's a construct, is still a kind of freedom. I plan on checking in with her again in the future!
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-27 17:25:26 +0000 UTCWow! I love this episode! Janice definitely fooled me, lol, and I can't wait to see Jill arriving in Texas!
Ella Cherry
2025-02-26 11:48:48 +0000 UTCAnd we have another fascinating, complicated character to add to the list... Is Janice really so completely incapable of adapting to womanhood, or was being one of Hutchinson's "toys" the real trauma she can't get past? I certainly can't blame her for not wanting to live in the shape that monster forced her into, fresh off of her escape... but then, this fake propaganda version of her being so effective that even she's starting to kind of wish it could be true makes you wonder. Could she have adapted under better circumstances??? It wouldn't be the first time Xu has been very wrong in his shitty classification system. I can't stop thinking about Ryan's mirror moment. That brief flash of jealousy for the woman in his reflection, and that being the thing that shocked him into resistance again. Janice seems metaphorically in a similar situation, looking at a reflection of herself she knows is a fake construct, but kind of seeing the appeal of it if it could only be genuine. Maybe she's just desperate for any degree of freedom at this point, or maybe there is something else there. Honestly, I kind of want her to never see the results of the algorithm. She'd need actual agency first, but it'd be interesting to see her sink or swim on her own without any further influence...
Phoebe Nocturne
2025-02-26 05:38:31 +0000 UTCMuse Emory, Summer Chastity Crowe would see him as a definite improvement over Davis, Hudson, Hutch or Kaschak. He seems to care and I got serious Jason/ Mason vibes off him...as in I'm falling for my assignment vibes.
Female-Bosmer-Always
2025-02-25 17:13:48 +0000 UTCYes, Jade...don't be mad at me. I feared I might lose the inspiration if I didn't write it down.
Female-Bosmer-Always
2025-02-25 17:10:07 +0000 UTCAww, so sad! How can she be sad when she's so pretty?
Alex94
2025-02-25 12:33:07 +0000 UTC@Emory, actually if Jill does take Xu's offer and does go about liberating "Toys", might it be possible she could make the Island and Clinic 12 a sort of Talos IV? Not is the alien zoo kind of way, but as a place that could create a strong allusion of reality and normalcy. Could Janice's experience with these videos and the quasi autonomous life she is allowed to live while making them contribute to concept and design of a "Toy Talos IV"? To be honest I am not sure why Xu says Toys are not suited for living freely in normal society. I get that they have had incomprehensible trauma. But I don't understand how that makes them unhelp-able and thus a risk to themselves and others in civil society. So I don't know how to challenge Xu, or what to believe. But assuming he is at least some what right. I think the Island and Clinic 12 could, with fully staffed medical and behavioral health clinics, be set up as a transition phase or if need be a permanent humane home for Toys who can't ever go back to civil society but free of being "owned". Even if not fully free in the greatest context of that word. But hopefully Janice will show Jill and Xu that Toy's can be healed and can fully transition too. Maybe Janice will show that the algorithm is not as perfect and all knowing as thought. That maybe there are other factors, often dormant during testing such as desire, power of will and survival instinct. That when confronted with diminishing good choices and a desire to survive can help even a Toy make a successful, if not necessarily pretty or easy transition. I am thinking the island could take on a feel like a Hollywood back lot, or Disney Main Street, USA, or the FBI Academy's "Hogan's Ally". A place that looks and feels real. There are shop and services, apartments and town houses, green and recreational spaces. The shops and services could be a combination of those created and operated by Second Dawn, these might have some professional staff operating them, at least initially. And then hire toys as they express interest in work. Of course some things might stay always professional staff. So the doctor's office might be a clinic satellite, but maybe eventually a Toy could get a job as the receptionist? Grocery store, bank, cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, clothing stores, cards and gifts, etc... And then gradually maybe the toys would want to create their own businesses, maybe a flower shop, candle shop, essential oils, massage, sporting goods, or any other number of specialty shops. But where the line between real and created would ever continue to blur. Possibly as it is inside the Toys a well. BTW - I really hate that term but did not know what other term to use without causing confusion!
Diana O'Neil
2025-02-25 06:45:23 +0000 UTCThis is like Emory’s love language…
Jade Diaz
2025-02-25 06:28:24 +0000 UTCA@ Emory, I loved it! And aren't we all to some degree, broken and lost at sea, and yet each of us capable of being a light house and safe harbor for others when needed, despite how broken and lost we might be. And in doing so maybe help find and rebuilt some of our lost broken selves in the process? Or at least find our own broken lighthouse to help guide us to safe harbor.
Diana O'Neil
2025-02-25 05:14:53 +0000 UTC@Emory... the only active wear that does its own gaffing!?! 😉 😂
Diana O'Neil
2025-02-25 05:08:02 +0000 UTC@Emory kind of like Captain Pike on Talos IV (STOS The Menagerie) 😉 BTW, another great idea for a Pin-ups series. All the girls in various Star Trek uniforms from across all the series and movies. Especially Mirror Universe ISS uniforms. 😉 Yeah I can nerd out with the best of them when I want. 🤓 😂
Diana O'Neil
2025-02-25 05:00:33 +0000 UTCThank you, Singular! It's wild to think Janice has everything and nothing at the same time. Possessions don't equal freedom, that's for sure. And I see the toy/companion divide as a reflection of Xu's own twisted psychology. He wants to believe he's offering some kind of "upgrade" with the companion program, but it's still built on a foundation of forced change. And yeah, guys like Hutchinson aren't going anywhere. That's the real horror of it all (to me) - it's not just about Xu or Second Dawn, it's about the world that makes them possible.
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:50:25 +0000 UTCThank you, Jade! 💕 I wanted those Janice videos to feel a little off, even hopeful as they seem. It's easy to read them as pure propaganda, and in some ways, they are, but I also think there's a genuine struggle for something real in there. Like, she's performing for Nikki, but maybe she's also performing for herself, trying to convince herself that this "new path" is actually a path at all and not just another cage, albeit a slightly nicer one.
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:47:32 +0000 UTCThank you, Alex! Yes, Jade is correct. Janice told Nikki she would try to survive. It would seem that was a lie, at least initially.
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:43:57 +0000 UTCSending Janice back to Hutchinson would've been too simple. It wouldn't have the right kind of sting. Plus, honestly, she deserves a break from that particular kind of hell. Riley definitely operates on a different frequency than Davis or Hutchinson. He carries a certain weariness, a kind of quiet acceptance that reads almost as sympathy at first glance. But those who seem almost decent are often the most effective because they can rationalize anything, even the darkest corners of this world, as just a job. That makes them invaluable to someone like Xu. Or maybe he's really kind of a good guy. 😉
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:42:12 +0000 UTCThank you, Hel! So glad you liked it! The island going dark but the money still flowing - yeah, that’s interesting. But maybe they have a secondary organization dealing with shipping and money issues. LOL - the branded sports bra! You know, I hadn’t even thought about merch, but now you mention it… Maybe “Second Dawn Activewear” is a future product line? 😉 Mason's back, and yeah, those chips are gonna fall hard. He’s such a complicated character. He’s done terrible things, but he’s also capable of real empathy and regret...
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:36:39 +0000 UTCThank you, Gemma! I wanted to play with your expectations there for sure. It's funny how easily we can be drawn into a narrative, even when we know something's off. With Janice, I’m fascinated by what survival does to a person. Is she manipulating her handler? Is she manipulating herself? Maybe it's a bit of both. Desperation can be a powerful motivator, and sometimes the only way to claw back a little control is to perform the role you’re given, but on your own terms. I think she's walking a tightrope, trying to find any sliver of agency in a situation designed to strip her of it entirely. And thanks! I’m glad you’re noticing the visual details. I was shocked by how pretty Janice is without all that gaudy makeup, too!
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:33:48 +0000 UTCLOL, yeah, that was a bit of a trick. But I really wanted to explore Janice's story, and it felt like what I had in mind made more sense in Jack & Jill! 😊
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:30:00 +0000 UTCAwww. 💖 She still has a chance, Maggie.
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:29:09 +0000 UTC💕 LOL - I bet you can hear my evil cackle all the way across the Atlantic.
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:28:36 +0000 UTCThank you Diana and Tim! I'm really glad you enjoyed the Janice reveal. I really wanted to explore her story, but Half Sisters didn't seem like the right venue. And I wanted to explore how someone could be manipulated into playing a role that's completely against their own desires, but also kind of serves a purpose, even if it's a twisted one. The idea of her being a "lighthouse" for Nikki, even while she's still lost herself, felt kind of poignant. But there's still hope for her, too!
Emory Ahlberg
2025-02-25 04:28:00 +0000 UTCOh teh twists and turns. Janice is picked up by Second Dawn, but has just about everything she needs. Unfortunately, they still treat her like a toy instead of a companion. Frankly everyone should be treated like a companion until they achem wash out of that program. Unfortunately there are always the super rich that want their "toys" I hope Hutchinson Sr never gets another "toy" but we all know better.
SingularCurve
2025-02-25 01:50:44 +0000 UTCBos, really?
Jade Diaz
2025-02-24 21:49:49 +0000 UTCOK, you had me until the panels where Janice was doing yoga, and it started to smell really fishy. I wasn't sure if we were seeing Janice's hallucinations in the sensory deprevation tank or the "road not taken" life-flashes-before-her-eyes-as-she-dies sequence but the end result is the same. I can only hope that for her own sake Janice gets to a place where she is like "Fuck you, Xu, I will actualize anyway. Your algorithm is hot garb." P.S. I still love you Brooke kiss😘😘
Jade Diaz
2025-02-24 21:44:41 +0000 UTCWe already know Xu tested all the toys for "companion" qualities. Janice isn't in the group. Alas.
Jade Diaz
2025-02-24 21:39:51 +0000 UTCOn her wrists :((((((
Jade Diaz
2025-02-24 21:37:10 +0000 UTCBeautiful! Seeing someone with such a masculine spirit molded into such a feminine creature as Janice is fantastic. Just a question, what are the deep cuts mentioned in page 17?
Alex94
2025-02-24 19:58:02 +0000 UTCBeloved muse Emory, where do I even begin? First off, allow me to start with tears of actual joy this time. And you got me tied up and twisted like some mental yoga master/guru. You almost got me believing I was reading H.S instead of J&J. My heart leapt into my throat and I almost didn't dare click past panel 10/30 but I knew I had to. And panel 23/30-"Welcome, Dr. Mason. We have such sights to show you." Panel 17/30-"NO, Mr. Xu. With all due respect, you are so terribly wrong, my revered uncle. We did talk about Dolly the sheep, cloning and transhumanism and Mr. Chapman's Second Dawn provided "wife and daughters" over a game of chess with Summer and myself, didn't we?" his niece Shunfen Xu said as she handed her uncle a cup of oolong tea. First, I'll start off with thanking you for not having Janice returned to Hutchinson. Secondly, the twists and the turns...WOW...just wow. At least her handler Riley seems more...human/humane than the loathsome Davis, Hutchinson and Kaschak. I just hope Riley won't make Mason's mistake with Janice...or perhaps Xu will give Janice to Riley. I see the way you're looking at Janice, Riley, please don't. And you've once more, truly and utterly inspired me, muse Emory. Below is the fruit of your inspiration: The door opened and 2 masked female guard hefting full Uzis and electric prods entered, ordering: "-Grab your ankles, Miss Mason, before we grab them for you." The sound of their weapons cocking left no doubt they meant business. But it was who came after the goons that made Dr. Mason's blood run cold. His old colleague Dr. Evelyn Whitlock; recently promoted to run the "R & R" division of Second Dawn. Not Rest & Recuperation, but "Retribution and Revenge" or Bàoyìng yu Fùchóu in the traditional Chinese. Second was the blue-haired Dr. Elizabeth Hatcher, who was the chief medical officer overall of Second Dawn. With them were two girls he knew very well, wearing only white towels wrapped around their chest. No leg irons or handcuffs were needed as they spoke in perfect, creepy unison: "-Welcome back, Dr. Mason. We have such sights to show you." they said as they bowed. They were Summer Chastity Crowe©™ and Shunfen Xu©™, the diamond encrusted platinum collars/chokers around their necks identifying them as "Companions" to Mistress Vienna Della Neri©™. 18, pregnant and already a Platinum Star member of Second Dawn. She made Davis, Kaschak, Hutchinson and other sadists...ACTUALLY hesitate...before kissing her hand as social protocol dictated. Vienna found out about Second Dawn, and she was utterly remorseless and relentless...in wanting and getting Summer Chastity Crowe her fiancée and baby-daddy back. She then had the nerve to demand Shunfen Xu©™, Platinum Star membership for herself and her mother Giovanna Della Neri©™ as well...compensation for her time and trouble. The Dawn's Privilege Zero cells were almost fully "staffed"...no doubt thanks to Vienna and Mama Giovanna. Just like Second Dawn taught them...Whitlock giggled as Hatcher cleared her throat and snapped her fingers, slamming her hand on the mobile tray loaded with injections. and suppositories. "-Girls, work now...play later." Hatcher commanded as the girls got to work, putting other gloves and swabbing Miss Mason's gluteus with rubbing alcohol before administering the injections and suppositories...with expert precision wasting not a single move or second. Hatcher applauded them. "-My Hatchlings, very well done. You have earned the right to perform Miss Mason orchiectomy...she will be fully awake so she can see everything...with only a local anesthetic...just like you two, Mistress Vienna, and Dr. Whitlock wanted. Now back to the sauna with you two." Summer and Shunfen bowed and then Mason realized the truth in Mary Palmer's words: "People change, and Lord knows it ain't always for the better."
Female-Bosmer-Always
2025-02-24 17:25:17 +0000 UTCAll great observations and comments Helena! Agree, agree, agree. I especially like the “merch” idea! 💡. That sports bra, add a pair of matching “booty” workout shorts, maybe some yoga tights. A nice little crop workout jacket. All with the New Dawn logo! Then there is Nikki’s Clinic 12 t-shirt and Mary’s “Anywhere But Boring” t-shirt! All could be amazing merch to help fund Emory’s art! 🖼️.
Diana O'Neil
2025-02-24 16:49:21 +0000 UTCAmazing episode, I'm so happy that Janice is away from Hutchinson. I'm not surprised Second Dawn picked her up, I do wonder if Janice was actually purchased or if that was another Xu lie. Curious of we'll ever find out. The reveal that the island has more or less gone dark but deliveries and funds are still coming, post coming out dinner. Is interesting. That branded sports bra 100% needs to be merch, Em. It's cute. And the plot here is lovely, using someone Nikki helped* to get her on board, genius. And Mason is back, I'm very curious where those chips will fall. There's so much going on and so many moving parts. Can't wait for more!
Helena Grace
2025-02-24 15:13:40 +0000 UTC😱
Diana O'Neil
2025-02-24 14:55:33 +0000 UTCSame here, that is until I scanned a little through the pages and saw Jill 😂🤦🏻♂️
Omagathief
2025-02-24 12:12:29 +0000 UTCYou really fooled me at the beginning of this episode. Janice’s tele videos of her new life really hooked me in. I thought, wow, Janice’s videos may inadvertently be more effective than other efforts in influencing Nick and demonstrating that it is possible to adapt to this new life . Then you pulled the rug out from under me (and I suspect other readers), when it was revealed Janice’s was being played and used as a ploy and prompt by Xu and Hutchison to manipulate Nikki. What a very clever twist and brilliant piece of writing Emory . Also Janice’s engaging conversations in the latter images leads to me wondering if there is going to be another twist. Is Janice conspiring herself and trying to hook her handler into believing her acceptance of what is happening. Getting him to drop his guard, thinking that she is going along, accepting what she is doing and what is happening to her. Now I’m waiting to see if this is the case and, if so, where her manipulation of her handler could lead. What is her possible end game? Is Janice the new hot suspect in relation to the question, ‘who shot Mr Xu?’ I suppose we will have to wait again and speculate on what will happen next. Also Emory beautiful images . Janice looks quite pretty, more than I thought she did when under Hutchinson’s control. The images of Jill,of course, are always stunning.
Gemma
2025-02-24 11:06:43 +0000 UTCThought I was reading Half Sisters for a sec 😅🤣
Thomas Tolliver
2025-02-24 10:01:48 +0000 UTCMind blowing update... ohhhhhhhh I need to stop reading those at work... because I do not work alone and it is hard to explain my shiny eyes to my work buddy... Janice, you deserve to live happy adapted life... I am 100% sure...
Maggie Heels
2025-02-24 09:57:52 +0000 UTCThis is an amazing twist, but unfortunately we’ll have to wait until Season 3 of Half Sisters to see Nikki’s reactions to Janice’s videos (and Phase 10 of Jack & Jill for Jill’s visit to Texas). This cliffhanger is gonna last a while.
Tim
2025-02-24 09:33:02 +0000 UTCOh my GOD you wonderful, terrible asshole Emory! I knew those first few pages were too good to be true! Incredible. Wonderful. And, shit, now I need to get up and actually have a Monday.
Alyson Greaves
2025-02-24 09:31:23 +0000 UTCWOW!!! 30 pages with all original art!!! Yeah!!! And OMG twists and turns! But still no clue about the shooting. Incredible story line though about Janice. Never saw that coming. Now I have to see the Half Sisters counter part to see how Nikki is receiving these. This is the kind of emotionally and intellectually engaging deep story I absolutely love. Get me hooked and then whip me around like a roller coaster. I rally hope Janice learns she actually has the right mental profile to be a companion. Maybe even return to Texas to be a part of Nikki's life in some way after all the excitement on the Island is presented. I am sure i may have many more comments as I review each slide over and over. But I won't have too much time as we have a second episode coming on Friday!!!! Yah!!!!!
Diana O'Neil
2025-02-24 08:50:25 +0000 UTC
